Animal bed and scratcher



May 4,'1948. s. C. CARWLE xmms@ ANIMAL BED AND $CRATGHER Filed MarGh 1.9, 1945 -ing its back` or other parts of its body,

Patented May 4;, i948 'irtD fst-Aras PATENT "FFlC'Efif- ANIMAL Ban AND scnsfronlia l n v y y Sylvia C. Carwile, Roanoke, Va. V f application March 19,1945, saranno. 583,453

scratcher.

An object of this invention is to provide a device which'can be used by an animal for scratchthe device also including a bed on which the animal may rest.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of this kind which includes a base, and a plurality of brush members supported above the base in a position whereby the animal may conveniently contact with the bristles of the brush members, the bristles being of different resiliency so that the animal may obtain the desired scratching or rubbing of the desired parts of its body.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device oi this kind which is simple in construction and can be readily cleaned so that the device can be kept sanitary.

To the foregoing objects and others which may hereinafter more fully apear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that changes, variations, and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

in the drawings:

Figure l is a detail top p-lan of an animal scratching device, constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 i-s a detail rear elevation, partly broken away and in section, of the device.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral ii) designates generally a base which may be constructed as a plate oi rectangular configuration and of suitable size and thickness. The base I@ has mounted thereon a plurality oi upstanding posts or supports il, there being four of these posts or supports, and these supports are provided with vertically spaced openings I3.

A bottom wall i2 for a bed or basket comprises a plate and is supported from the posts at a point spaced upwardly from the base ill. The plate l2 is provided at the opposite ends thereof with ears l@ extending outwardly from the adjacent ends of the bottom wall I2, and a holding pin l5 is extended through selected aligned openings o the posts l land a pair of the ears It. The pin 5 is provided at one end with a head i3 by means of which the pin may be readily withdrawn or inserted in its supporting position.

The bottom wall 4l2 has formed on the upper side thereof a basket generally designated as il. This basket Il comprises a plurality of uprights i8 and a plurality of narrow strips or bands I9,

2 claims. iol; 11s-ss) which are woven aboutvthe uprights I8lin" 'a `manner to provide a perforate upper wall. The upright-s |B are disposed'in partially elliptical form, as shown in Figure l, and the strips i9 are woven in a manner to provide an entrance 20, by means of which the animal may readily enter the interior of the basket, 'which forms a bed for the animal.

In order to provide a means whereby'th'e ani-y mal may scratch or rub its head and back, I have provided a back engaging brush, generally designated as 2|. The brush 2| includes a back 22, which is secured to the lower side of the bottom wall |2, and the back 22 has secured thereto a plurality of bristles 23. The bristles 23 are preierably formed of steel, or other relatively rigid material, so that when the animal engages the bristles 23, the latter will provide the necessary scratching or rubbing action on the back or head of the animal.

In order to provide a softer rubbing action on the back or head of the animal, I have provided bre bristles 24, which are disposed adjacent the opposite ends of the back 22 outside of the steel bristles 23. These bre bristles are of substantially the same length as the steel bristles 23, and provide a softer rubbing action, in addition to preventing the animal from injuring itself in the initial contact with the end bristles.

As shown in Figure 2, the bristles 23 and 24 are arranged on an numeral 25. This arc i-s transverse to the length of the brush and provides a means whereby a large area 'of the back or head of the animal may be contacted by the brush. The bottom wall |2 of the basket is supported above the base l0 a suicient height so that the animal may readily walk between the posts l| and the brush and at the same time contact with the bristles of the brush.

The posts or supporting members il are mounted on the base l0 in a manner to provide a platform 26 at one side oi the base, and a second brush, generally designated as 2l, is mounted in a vertical position and secured in any suitable manner to the adjacent pair of posts Ha. The brush 21 includes a back 28, which may be secured to the adjacent posts ||a and the brush 2l is formed with inner steel bristles 23 and outer bre bristles 30.

The brush 21 is preferably iiat and the provision of the fibre bristles 30 at the ends of the brush 21 provides a means whereby the animal will not injure itself when rubbing its head against this brush. The brush 2l provides a means whereby the animal may scratch its sides. A scratching post 3| is secured to the base lil adjacent one corner thereof, and the post 3| is provided with la relatively rough outer surface similar to the surface of the bark of a tree, and

arc, as indicated by the parture from the the scratching post 3| has connected thereto an article 32, which may be impregnated with mint or other suitable composition. The article 32 may be shaped in the form of a mouse, and the article 32 is connected to the post 3| -by means of a cord 33. Preferably a spring 34 is connected at one end to the inner end of the cord opposite end of the spring 34 is connected to an eye 35, which is carried by the posi; 3|.

The lposts may be mounted onrthe base in a manner whereby the entire structure may be initially knocked down so that the device may be shipped in compact form and assembled by Athe purchaser.

The exact configuration illustrated fs regarded l as the optimum, but some of the desirable results inherent in this disclosure may be obtained by various slight modica-tions including some deexact configuration shown, and it is therefore requested that the scope of the invention should be regarded as limited only by Vthe terms of the cla What is claimed is:

1. A device as described comprising a base, a plurality of uprights carried by said base, a brush 33 and the,

REFERENCS CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS .5

Number Name Y Date 1,582,144 Paum Apr. 27, 1926 1,627,516 Larson May 3, 1927 1,704,724 Chudomelka. Mar. 12, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 461,582 Germany June 23, 1928 

